Custom has introduced into society vices of all descriptions.  Not long since it was the custom to pass the social glass, and it has been the means of making a great many inebriates, and making beggars of a great many families; thus we see the effects of that custom.  The custom of revelry, balls, parties, and gay assemblies, tend to dissipate the minds of youth, and lead them into the paths of vice.  The custom of card-playing has led to the gaming-table, and been the ruin of thousands.

  “The suns of riot flow down the loose stream,
  Of false and tainted joy on the rankled soul,
  The gaming fury falls, till in one gulf
  Of total ruin; honor, virtue, peace,
  Friends, families, and fortune
  Headlong sink.”

Annie Howard.

It was a chill, dreary day in November.  The autumn winds swept with a dirge-like sound through the tops of the tall old trees that overshadowed a stately mansion, where a group of sorrowing friends had collected, to pay the last sad rite, to one of earth’s fairest, loveliest flowers.  All without wore an air of gloom and melancholy.  Ever and anon a sere and yellow leaf would fall with a faint rustling sound, speaking in mournful language to the heart, that all things earthly must decay; and well did the scene accord with the sadness and sorrow that reigned in the hearts of those who had assembled on that mournful occasion.

The deceased was one whom we had all known and loved, for she was one of those sweet angelic beings, whom it is impossible not to love.  Her presence, like sunshine, seemed to diffuse light and cheerfullness upon all who came within the magic circle of her influence.

Her glad laugh fell like music upon the ear.  Her large dark eyes beamed with the light of intelligence and affection.  The softest rose tint tinged her alabaster cheek, and the tones of her voice were like the melody of an Aeolian harp, when touched by the wandering zephyrs.

But youth, beauty, and goodness could not shield her from the cruel shafts of the destroyer.  The hand of disease fell heavily upon her, and her fragile form sank beneath the blow, and faded like a blighted flower.  There sat her parents bowed down by grief, for the being whom they most loved on earth, the light of their home, the joy, the hope, the pride of their hearts, had been taken from them, and they were indeed left desolate.

One ray of light alone illumined the darkness that overshadowed them like a pall.  But one star shone out upon the dim horizon of the future, the hope of being reunited with their beloved child in that better land, where tears shall be wiped from all eyes—­where love never dies, and parting scenes are never known.